Hot Docs 2018: Our Review of ‘Love, Scott’

Hot Docs 2018: Our Review of ‘Love, Scott’

Laura Marie Wayne’s feature length documentary debut; Love, Scott starts out on the wrong foot and it mostly stays there. Her main subject is musician Scott Jones, who became a paraplegic after Shane Matheson attempted to murder him. She follows him around as he embarks on a journey through his home town of New Glasgow.

They even go to the place where the brutal attack happened. This is one of a few scenes taking place in almost darkness. I suppose she decided to light him this way to hide his face. Besides, his words can sufficiently express his emotions.

Speaking from experience, there is a tendency within LGBT people to dwell on their traumas. This movie is also probably the closest thing Jones gets to a acknowledgement that the attack was a hate crime. That’s because there is no mention of his sexuality in the court’s official records about the crime.

There’s also this implication that Wayne and Jones are friends.

She, however, chooses to spend most of the film during these moments. It’s as if he’s more of a victim to her than a survivor. She also has monologues throughout the doc instead of only letting him speak.

I do appreciate the doc for its complex portrayal of being an out gay man’s community. Stereotypes come into urban audiences’ minds when small towns are on screen, especially during movies like this. We even get to hear Jones’ mother recount a conversation where an older gay man is called naive for coming out.

We also do get to see a few scenes when Jones works as a conductor, activist, and motivational speaker. As if his tragedy opened those peoples’ minds. But after those triumphant scenes showing nuance, Wayne refocuses on scenes that seem more manipulative than the usual doc.

Love, Scott shows TIFF Bell Lightbox on both April 28th at 6:30 PM and May 3rd at 9:15 PM. It also shows on April 29th at 10:15 AM at the Isabel Bader Theatre.

  • Release Date: 4/28/2018
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While Paolo Kagaoan is not taking long walks in shrubbed areas, he occasionally watches movies and write about them. His credentials are as follows: he has a double major in English and Art History. This means that, for example, he will gush at the art direction in the Amityville house and will want to live there, which is a terrible idea because that house has ghosts. Follow him @paolokagaoan on Instagram but not while you're working.
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